Chinese Stories from Taiwan, 1960-1970

Bys: Joseph S. M. Lau and Timothy A. Ross

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231040083
• ISBN13: 9780231040082
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 359 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent selection, good translations

Some of these stories are classics and have been made into movies in Taiwan. My favorite was "A Flower in the Rainy Night" ("Days gazing seawards" in the original) by Huang Chun Ming. The opening page of nature description is pure poetry. Since these stories were written at a time when Taiwan was beginning its ascendance as a major commercial player, some stories look back to a past close to the land and sea, or to life in small towns and neighborhoods. Others reveal the life of cities during that time of transition. The structure and voice in the stories is contemporary and very accessible to Westerners. It reminded me of the quality of those rich, rewarding English and American narratives from the 1930's through the 1960's, masterful, but without the taint of self-consciousness. (Some of the authors have studied writing at U.S. universities before returning to Taiwan which may explain the easy rapport.) A book like this is a unique opportunity to experience a spectrum of traditional and modern Chinese culture in a presentation that speaks easily to Western readers. (These stories are unlike 20th century fiction from the People's Republic, which started with Chekhov emulation (Lu Xun) early in the century and then was eclipsed in a period of deracination and political straight-jacketing from which it has only recently begun to emerge.) In these stories, Taiwan is paradoxically revealed as both more traditionally Chinese and more assimilated to Western styles of expression. The translations are outstanding. It is rare to find fiction translated this well from any language. There is no hint of quaintness here or clumsiness. The writing is so seamless that I had a feeling that I was reading stories that had been originally written in English. I recommend this book highly for the quality of the writing and the perceptions and feeling in the stories.